1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a so-called pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism, and more particularly to a cassette mounting and ejection mechanism which is suitably applicable to a video tape recorder, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
A pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism is used in, for example, a video camera with a video tape recorder (so-called a camcorder).
The applicant has previously proposed a pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Application No. Hei-1-165938 (Utility Model Application No. Sho-63-6-1995). In this pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism, a lid plate (or lid member) is movably provided with respect to the cassette holder with the lid member being shifted in linking with the movement of the cassette holder. In this construction, when the cassette holder is moved to a cassette inserting/taking-out position, the lid member is shifted in a direction of cassette insertion to thereby facilitate the inserting/taking-out of the cassette into/from the cassette holder.
Further, the applicant also proposed another cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Application NO. Hei-4-81234 (Utility Model Application No. Hei-2-124742). In this mechanism, a lid member for opening and closing a cassette inserting/taking-out port of the cassette holder is equipped with a slider which is forwardly/backwardly movable (i.e., retractable). A connecting link for driving the slider is pivotally mounted on the slider and one swing link of each pair of swing links to move the slider forwardly/backwardly while following the retractable motion of the cassette holder. With this construction, the inserting/taking-out operation of large or small size cassettes can be facilitated, and the opening/closing operation of the lid member can be smoothly performed.
FIGS. 1 to 3 are diagrams showing a conventional pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism a.
The cassette mounting and ejection mechanism a shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is used for a video camera d in which two kinds of cassettes b and c having different size are usable, i.e., a so-called compatible type video cassette apparatus.
The cassette mounting and ejection mechanism a includes a cassette holder g which is movable between a cassette mount position in a housing e of the video camera d and an eject position out of the housing e through a cassette inserting/taking-out opening f which is formed on the side surface of the housing e of the video camera d, pantograph type link mechanisms k and kxe2x80x2 through which the cassette holder g is supported by a mechanical chassis h which is provided in the housing e, and a lid member j for closing the cassette inserting/taking-out opening f with the cassette holder g being located at the cassette mount position.
The link mechanisms k and kxe2x80x2 are disposed along both the side surfaces of the cassette holder g in the direction of cassette width. Therefore, the cassette inserting/taking-out opening f of the housing e is designed to be sufficiently larger than the cassette holder g so that the link mechanisms k and kxe2x80x2 do not interfere with the inserting/taking-out motion.
Each of the link mechanisms k and kxe2x80x2 is provided with a resilient member (not shown) so as to be urged toward the eject position at all times. Further, when the cassette holder g is located at a cassette mount position, the location of the cassette holder g is held by a lock means not shown.
A lid member j is designed to have substantially the same size as the cassette inserting/taking-out opening f or a slightly larger size than the cassette inserting/taking-out opening f, and it is provided on the outer surface of the cassette holder g. When the cassette holder g arrives at the cassette mount position, the lid member j closes the cassette inserting/taking-out opening f.
According to the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, when a cassette is mounted on the video camera d, the cassette holder g is drawn out to the eject position, and the cassette is inserted into the cassette holder g. Subsequently, the cassette holder g is manually pushed back into the housing e, and moved back to the cassette mount position.
On the other hand, when the cassette is taken out from the video camera d, the lock means is released by manipulating an eject button so that the cassette holder g is ejected toward the side surface of the housing e by the resilient force of the resilient member, whereby the cassette holder g is moved to the eject position.
In the pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism a as described above, the cassette holder g is merely supported through the link mechanisms k and kxe2x80x2 by the mechanical chassis in the housing e. Therefore, if strong external force is applied to the cassette holder g in a direction different from the mounting direction of the cassette when the cassette holder g is located at the eject position, particularly if the external force is applied in a direction perpendicular to the mounting or ejecting direction (in a direction as indicated by an arrow X in FIG. 1), the cassette holder g, the link mechanisms k and kxe2x80x2, the mechanical chassis h, etc. may be deformed or damaged.
Further, the lid member j for closing the cassette inserting/taking-out opening f is designed to be slid in the same direction as the cassette inserting direction along the cassette holder g when the lid member j is moved to the eject position. This design is adopted to prevent the fingers from abutting against the lid member j when a smaller cassette c is deeply inserted into the cassette holder g or taken out from the cassette holder g. In order to move the cassette holder g to the cassette mount, position after the smaller cassette c is deeply inserted into the cassette holder g, the lid member is manually pushed inwardly. In this case, if the external force is applied in a direction as indicated by an arrow Y of FIG. 3 with the lid member j being slid, the load is particularly large, and not only the cassette holder g, the link mechanisms k, kxe2x80x2 and the mechanical chassis h, but also the lid member itself is liable to be deformed or damaged.
That is, according to the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism a as described above, the cassette holder g is manually pushed into the housing e to move the cassette holder g to the cassette mount position. At this time, if the pushing direction is deviated from the original direction or when the cassette holder g or the lid member j abuts against something in an eject state, some strong external force may be applied to the cassette holder g, resulting in the deformation or damage of the cassette holder g, the link mechanisms k, kxe2x80x2, the mechanical chassis h, the lid member j, etc.
Further, when the larger cassette b is pulled out from the cassette holder g, the upper portion of the cassette b which is exposed at the upper end of the cassette holder g is grasped by fingers from the A, Axe2x80x2 direction. When the cassette b is inserted, it is also grasped by the fingers from the A,Axe2x80x2 direction, and then inserted from the upper end of the cassette holder g. However, when the hand is small or the hand is not sufficiently expandable, it is difficult to grasp the cassette b from the A,Axe2x80x2 direction. In order to solve this problem, a gap through which the fingers can be sufficiently inserted may be provided between the cassette holder g and the housing e at the eject position so that the cassette can be grasped from the B,Bxe2x80x2 direction by the fingers. In this structure, the cassette can be grasped from the B,Bxe2x80x2 direction by the fingers. However, the large gap may cause erroneous insertion of the cassette or contamination of undesired materials. In addition, dirt such as dust or the like easily invades in the chassis to induce a problem from a view point of being dust-tight.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism which has enhanced mechanical strength even when a cassette holder is located at an eject position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pop-up type cassette mounting and ejection mechanism in which an opening of a housing for inserting/taking-out a cassette therethrough is designed to be small and the mounting and ejecting of the cassette can be facilitated.
In order to attain the above objects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a cassette mounting and ejection mechanism comprising a housing which has a cassette inserting/taking-out opening, a cassette holder which supports a cassette and is movable through the cassette inserting/taking-out opening between a cassette mount position in the housing and a cassette eject position out of the housing, and a lid member which closes the cassette inserting/taking-out opening of the housing when the cassette holder is located at the cassette mount position and is moved away from the housing interlockingly with the movement of the cassette holder to the cassette eject position to thereby open the cassette inserting/taking-out opening, is made to comprise a reinforcing member which is adapted to link the housing and the lid member with one end thereof being mounted on the housing and the other end thereof being mounted on the lid member.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the reinforcing member comprises a plate-shaped member with one side edge thereof being rotatably mounted on the lid member while the other side edge confronting the one side edge being ratably mounted on the housing.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the housing has a recess for accommodating the reinforcing member when the cassette holder is located at the cassette mount position.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the reinforcing member is overlapped with the lid member to form the same outer surface when the cassette holder is located at the cassette mount position.
The cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above further comprises an auxiliary arm linking the lid member and the housing with one end thereof being rotatably mounted on the housing and the other end thereof being rotatably mounted on the lid member, wherein the lid member is slidably supported by the cassette holder, and the auxiliary arm is rotated for carrying out the sliding motion of the lid member to the cassette holder interlockingly with the movement of the cassette holder between the cassette mount position and the cassette eject position.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the auxiliary arm is actuated so that the sliding direction of the lid member is substantially parallel to a direction to which the cassette is inserted into the cassette holder.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the auxiliary arm is provided at each of both sides of the cassette holder.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the reinforcing member comprises a plurality of arm members which are disposed away from one another in the right and left direction with one end of each arm member being rotatably mounted on the lid member and the other end thereof being rotatably mounted on the housing.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a cassette mounting and ejection mechanism comprising a housing which has a cassette inserting/taking-out opening, a cassette holder which supports a cassette and is movable through the cassette inserting/taking-out opening between a cassette mount position in the housing and a cassette eject position out of the housing, and a lid member which closes the cassette inserting/taking-out opening of the housing when the cassette holder is located at the cassette mount position and is moved away from the housing interlockingly with the movement of the cassette holder to the cassette eject position to thereby open the cassette inserting/taking-out opening, is made to comprise a recess formed at the cassette insertion port side of the cassette holder, and a projection which is formed at the cassette insertion port side of the cassette holder and is adapted to open/close the recess.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the recess is formed in the cassette holder so that the side surfaces of the cassette in the cassette holder appearing at the outside of the cassette holder can be gripped by fingers when the cassette holder is located at the cassette ejection position.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the recess is formed in the housing so as to enable smooth insertion of fingers into the housing through a gap formed by the recess when the cassette holder is located at the eject position.
In the cassette mounting and ejection mechanism as described above, the recess comprises a first recess which is formed in the cassette holder so that a part of the side surfaces of the cassette in the cassette holder appear at the outside of the cassette holder when the cassette holder is located at the cassette eject position for enabling a part of the side surfaces of the cassette can be gripped by fingers, and a second recess which is formed in the housing so that the fingers are insertable into the housing when the cassette holder is located at the cassette eject position.